Birth Video Contest

As the national rate of C-sections surpasses 30 percent, it is more important than ever for women and their partners to be educated about the options they have during pregnancy and birth.

Birth Matters Virginia (an organization that works to promote an evidence-based model of maternity care) is soliciting 4-7 minute educational videos about birth. The first-place winner will receive a cash prize of $1000. Second place $500 and an “honorable mention” prize of $100 will also be awarded. The deadline for entering the contest is Mother’s Day, May 10, 2009.

As a step toward the goal of educating women about their choices and options, this contest is seeking videos that will appeal to and inspire new audiences that may not have previously been exposed to any model of childbirth, other than the version we see on television and in movies, which can be dangerous, uncertain, excruciating, and usually in need of extensive and often emergency medical intervention. Birth doesn’t have to be this scary, and people need good information in order to make good choices.

Guest judges include: Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, acclaimed producers of the Business of Being Born and Sarah J. Buckley., MD, international birth expert and author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering. Ricki, Abby, and Sarah will join a consumer-based panel of judges who will be evaluating the tone, educational content, creativity and more. You don’t have to be a professional to enter and you don’t have to be from Virginia. They want to get videos from mothers, fathers, filmmakers, film students, birth advocates, and anyone else who is interested in birth or film or wants to win $1000.

The more people submit videos, the more will be out there on YouTube and we could use all the help we can get spreading the word. A series of feature-length films (starting with The Business of Being Born) have inspired women to make decisions about their maternity care as carefully as they make other consumer decisions. Demand for evidence-based models of care is rising, and there is hope that we can turn the tide of medically unnecessary surgeries and interventions, saving them for when they are truly needed for the safety of the mother or baby.

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One Response to “Birth Video Contest”

Hi, I posted a video on the importance of female support throughout labor and beyond in forming a new mother’s identity. I strongly believe it is time that birth gets back to being a rite of passage rather than a medical catastrophe! Check out my video and let me know what you think!

The Instructor

Sonya has taught Bradley Method® classes since 2003. Her passion is educating parents-to-be, that they may be empowered to make the right choices for their family. She is also a La Leche League breastfeeding peer counselor and physical therapist.

The Classes

PurelyBorn Bradley® classes are held in southeast Cedar Rapids on Tuesday evenings, 7-9PM. Classes are kept small and fill up quickly.